“Oh, I’d say our soybean and dry bean acres have come off pretty well. A lot of that’s been rolling through. There’s been dust flying the past few days,” says Pioneer field agronomist Josh Whelan. His territory stretches from Lansing north to the bridge and into The Thumb.
In Monday’s USDA Crop Progress Report, Michigan soybeans are 32% harvested and Michigan dry beans are 77% harvested.
“Corn is getting a little bit further behind on shelling. I did see some going yesterday a little bit outside of Charlotte, but for most part it’s just been silage and high moisture corn coming off. Not a ton of grain corn just yet,” says Whelan.
Michigan corn is 16% harvested, behind last year’s pace but ahead of the 5-year average pace. Whelan says corn and soybean yields have been solid thus far.
“It’s been a great harvest season so far, and it’s been a really great time to plant wheat. So, we’re probably sitting close to 80-85% of the wheat acres planted already. So, really making up for all the wheat we didn’t get in last year due to how wet it was.”
Wheat all across Michigan is ahead of the average pace at 55%.
While harvest progress has been pretty smooth, Whelan says there have been some issues.
“Guys have been running into a lot of green stem and a lot of bud blight out in the fields which is pretty typical for a dry year or a year with heavy insect pressure like we had this year. So, even though we’ve got green stems, our pods are dry and our beans are dry. It’s just kind of frustrating to have to slow down a little bit, but that’s usually the best. Slow down, drive though your beans, and get them at the right moisture rather than risk shattering and yield loss. You don’t want to hear those BB’s bouncing off the windshield.”
Hear the full interview with Pioneer agronomist Josh Whelan below.
